Anti-aging All-stars: 5 Ingredients That Pack a Punch

Meet the power players of the skin-care aisle—and learn how to make them work for you.

WHAT IT DOES: This vitamin-A derivative treats fine lines, wrinkles, sun spots, dullness, crepiness, sagging skin…you name it. Forms of retinol "are among the best anti-aging ingredients we have," says Jeffrey Dover, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine.

HOW IT WORKS: Retinol speeds up cell turnover, sweeps away the dead cells that cause dullness, and boosts collagen and elastin by stimulating cellular repair at the deepest level of the skin. It also pumps up circulation by increasing blood-vessel formation, so skin looks healthier.

HOW TO MAKE IT WORK BETTER:
• Pay attention to packaging. Buy it in an aluminum tube or an opaque plastic pump bottle so light and air don't degrade it.
• Go for the right names. Avoid forms like retinyl palmitate and retinyl linoleate—they're less irritating, but also less effective.
• Use it at night. The vampire of the skin-care world, retinol works best in the dark.
• Put it on after cleansing. Wash your face with warm water and make sure it's dry before applying retinol. Then, blood vessels and pores are dilated, making more space between cells for absorption. (Prescription versions, called retinoids, in particular must be applied to dry skin or they absorb too quickly and irritate.)
• Make sure it tingles. If you can't feel it, it's not strong enough, says Dover.
• Go easy on your eyes. Dab around the eye area every third night. Retinol is great for undereye crepiness.
• Give skin a treat afterward. "A layer of moisturizer with niacinamide or ceramides helps skin tolerate the ingredient better by strengthening the skin barrier, making it less prone to irritation," says Howard Sobel, an attending dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.